Rajinder Da Dhabha (AB-14 , Safdarjung Enclave Market , New Delhi)

YUMMRAJ tried Chicken Satay at this place after reading this post & was super impressed.

In a nutshell:

Though I can never really call Rajinder Dhaba the best of anything, it surely dishes out good food and is an awesome value for money – something that I call a ‘Jack of all Meals & Master of some ‘ eatout.

I have been a great fan of this Dhaba way back from my college days. Those days we used to come here once in a month to splurge on a meal of ‘Non-veg’ immediately after getting our respective monthly allowances from parents . Many of the’ treats’ in my college days also used to happen here.

The Dhaba was earlier at the T junction near to the Safdurjung Market right opposite the Maruti showroom. Below is the pic of it way back in time though it looked similar till 2000.

Rajinder Dhaba – way backIn year 2000 it was demolished , but in the true spirit of the Sardar Ji owner (Mr Rajinder) , “Bheed thodi demolish ho sakti hai,” . And he was right – even we patrons never left him . The dhaba literally rose from the ashes into Swankier and Hipper avatar, as seen in the picture below.

One thing I really liked here recently was what I thought was Chicken Fry. We ordered a whole plate for 3 of us as a starter. We decided to sit inside the AC sitting area, as we were with ladies and we were in no mood to pickup a fight with drunkheads on a Friday night .The Ambience inside was fairly good for any restaurant & surely better than that of some of the famous dhabas at Murthal or Zilmil in Karnal.

Chicken Fry at Rajinder Dhaba

Coming to the food – The Chicken fry was no where like the batter fried Chicken that u get at KFC. It was Tawa fried Chicken pieces pierced with Oriental style wooden stick. However, despite the oriental look, the chicken didn’t have any trace of Oriental or Chindia or Chinjabi flavours .

It was served with a thick layer of a sauce that appeared to be visually partly close to Hummus & partly to Mayo but did not taste like any of these. Honestly, I cud not figure out what it really was, but it tasted Awesome . So I asked & the answer was stunning – It was Chicken Satay with peanut butter sauce!!!! No wonder I did not get it right.

The Texture of chicken was Good, not at all chewy & soft. The dressing on it was liberal. The quantity was Good Value for money.

It was served in a Thermocol plate – Quite a Decent & hygenic thing to do. All though I doubt the people who made or packed it had there hand sterilized , but that you do not expect that from a dhaba – right? .

I am delighted to say that this can be called a Speciality for Rajinder Da Dhaba . I hope doesn’t deteriorate. Good wholesome snack that everyone should give a try.